Below the BackyardA Bug's Fight For Paradise
by DarkAngelSnapeLover
Summary: A backyard full of bugs is threatened when the family decides to call an exterminator.
1. Chapter 1

**Below the Backyard**

CHARACTERS:

**Aimee:** a beautiful butterfly with attitude and heart

**Bob:** a beetle who enjoys being by himself

**Phillip:** a flea living on Sandy, the Robinson's dog

**Stella:** a bumblebee with more attitude than anyone; also called Goddess

**Ricky:** a dragonfly with seeing problems

**Alfred:** an ant with too many brothers and sisters to count; adventurous

**Samantha:** a centipede that is seen as unreliable because she's a girl

**Caleb:** a grasshopper that helps Alfred with his problems

**Webster:** a silk worm who loves skydiving off of the flowers in the garden

**Mr. Robinson:** the owner of the backyard

**Mrs. Robinson:** his wife, one who planted most of the backyard in the first place

**Gregory Robinson:** the only son of the Robinson's, loves entomology

**Elizabeth Robinson:** Gregory's younger sister, hates bugs; problem starter

CHAPTER ONE: THE BEGINNING

"Bob?...Bob?...BOB!!" Aimee yelled. "Get your ole' dung loving butt out of bed and get out of the way! Mrs. Robinson's about to give you a run for your money!"

"I'm up, I'm up. What do you mean?" Bob asked, rolling onto his back. Aimee sighed and rolled him over with her delicate legs.

"She got a new hose. You thought you'd never seen water come so fast, well guess again. Here it comes everybody!" Aimee screamed. All of the flying creatures flew behind Mrs. Robinson while the other bugs were soaked. When the watering was over, Bob looked up at Aimee, who hovered just above the flower line.

"You were right," he whispered after squirting water out of his mouth. "So, what else is going on today?"

"I'm not sure yet, but let me ask Phillip. Sandy will be out here any minute to do his business, so you might be in luck and start early today," Aimee grinned, letting out a belly laugh a second later, and then flying away.

A distinct buzzing sound was then heard, along with a scream.

"Ahhh! I'm being attacked! Henry! Gregory! Get the hose on this beast!" Mrs. Robinson screamed. Laughter of the smallest kind could be heard from the flower bed, where the bugs were rolling over themselves in delight. The bee under question then flew to the tulips, Mrs. Robinson's favorite flower, and took a sip of nectar.

"So, how is everyone today?" Stella asked with a smile. "Ah, everyone is laughing. I take that my daily antics have amused you on this fine morning. I am proud of myself."

"We too are proud of you, Goddess," the group chanted, then continued on their laughing.

"Well, I'm glad you can stop for a moment and say so. Oh, here comes the children. Bob, get ready to do your duty. Sandy's about here and…you know the drill," Stella smiled.

"Yes, Goddess," Bob called to her. She grinned and buzzed away to listen to the humans converse over her actions.

"It attacked me! Oh, I was terrified!" Mrs. Robinson whispered. She was filled with trepidation.

"Mom, it was just a bee," Gregory sighed. "Besides, they only attack when they're provoked. Maybe you should've used the old hose like Dad wanted."

"But I want her to use that hose! Then we can play in the water!" Elizabeth pouted. Her mother put a hand on her shoulder.

"You won't be playing out here until the bee is gone," Mrs. Robinson smiled. "You're highly allergic, and there is just no way I'm putting my baby through that."

"But it's spring break, Mom. All the good things are out here for us, including the butterfly I want to add to my collection. I'm staying," Gregory said sternly.

"You're not allergic, boy, so go play," Mrs. Robinson replied. She then looked to her daughter. "There's a machine upstairs I want you to have a look at. We've much to do inside the attic."

The humans disbursed, but one human remained in the garden. Gregory, the oldest son of the Robinson's and the least understood, remained in the garden every day, mostly to collect glimpses of the bugs, but lately he was looking to catch one, a beautiful butterfly of the rarest sort. He wanted to catch Stella before school was back in session.

The bugs realized this and prowled along carefully, except for one group. The ants had an ant bed just past the backyard fence, and from there they journeyed into the garden to collect food for their queen. One ant was Alfred, a mere child considering how old his father was, yet strong, powerful, and too adventurous. He was put onto the assembly line carrying food back to the nest, and he hated it. He wanted to be an explorer, an ant who went searching for suitable places to move to. He wanted power, the kind that he would only have as an explorer ant. He was also a daydreamer, and because of his dreams, he was often on punishment of taking trash back into the garden.

On his journey into the garden for trash duty, he passed Caleb, a good friend of his that often gave him a lift, often bumpy, to the dumping area, but today Caleb was preoccupied.

"Caleb, what are you doing?" Alfred called.

"Shh. The human, he's looking for me," Caleb whispered. Alfred climbed onto a stalk of grass only to see a giant eye blocking the sun. He rolled down the stalk and landed on Caleb's head.

"Sorry, my friend, but you're right! There's a giant up there!" Alfred exclaimed.

"They are called humans, and this one is not friendly. He tries to catch us bugs," Caleb whispered. "You should leave before he finds the both of us. I'll see you on your way back."

Alfred nodded to his friend and carefully detoured around the human's feet. He then passed the birdbath, which is where he found another friend of his, Ricky. Ricky flew around the birdbath trying to land on the ledge, but he was having a lot of problems. Ricky did not have the best seeing abilities, and it showed in moments like these. Alfred stifled laughter as his friend fell from the ledge and into the water.

"Good day, Ricky!" Alfred called.

"Child, can you help me land on the ledge of this bath? I'm tired and my wings are wet," Ricky asked.

"Can't you see, Ricky? My arms and legs are all tied up with the colony's trash. I wish I could. Do you want me to find Webster? He could swing you onto the ledge with his silk," Alfred tried.

"Anything to get me from this cold water, Child. Webster is near the giant, I think. That's what Samantha said, but she's not too reliable," Ricky whispered.

"Why is she not reliable? I used her last week to carry my colony's trash while Caleb and I hopped around the tulip stalks," Alfred asked. Ricky shrugged and almost rolled face-first into the water.

"She's a girl, Alfred. Females are known to be unreliable, and they can bring more danger to this garden. The humans have males and females, and they're females are the ones causing problems with us all the time. The smallest giant is a girl, and the last time she played here in the spring, Stella was forced to sting her. The child had an allergic reaction and now Stella is wanted again for messing with the other human, her mother. Girls are just too dangerous!" Ricky ranted, almost rolling again.

"I'll talk with Samantha. Wait a second, Ricky. Stella is a girl and she is quite reliable. What about her?" Alfred asked.

"She's a goddess though," Ricky replied.

"Then what about Aimee? She's one of the worst out here about fights. Is she unreliable?"

"Sometimes," Ricky squeaked.

"Never is she unreliable. Your theory has a major loophole."

"I see that now, but Samantha is still unreliable. She's the only female centipede in the garden, yet there are no little centipedes. She must have something wrong with her," Ricky whispered. A rustling came from some grass near by. "Who's there?" Ricky called.

"The unreliable one," Samantha hissed. "I hope you drown, Ricky. You know I rescued you last time you swam."

"After five minutes!"

"It was five seconds, you moron," she whispered. She then turned to Alfred. "Would you like some help with the trash?"

"Certainly. I have another load, so I'll leave you to this one and meet you back at the trash pile in a few minutes," Alfred smiled, allowing Samantha to take the load from his back. He sighed with relief as Samantha nodded in understanding and left towards the trash pile.

"She's going to lose it," Ricky whispered.

"No sooner than you'll lose you head, ingrate," Samantha called back. "You forget how good my hearing is!"

"No, it's just habit to say something once someone leaves. Alfred? Are you there Alfred?" Ricky called. Alfred was long gone to the ant hill again. Ricky sighed.

"It looks like you're the unreliable one, Ricky! Alfred left as soon as I did! Get your eyes checked, weasel!" Samantha called. She then fell out of earshot of Ricky, who lay in the water. She quickly got to the trash pile, but there was more than trash there. Aimee lay behind the largest pile. "What is it, Aimee?" Samantha asked.

"The human! He's looking for me. He wants to add me to his collection. He wants to kill me!" Aimee cried.

"Not for certain," Samantha smiled. "Remember Raymond that flew through here? He was a butterfly from a professor's collection. Collections are often just places to meet other butterflies. Just play hard to get and he'll forget you exist, but if you're caught, he probably won't kill you. Just don't fight," Samantha advised.

"Easy for you to say. You're a centipede. You have no beautiful colors to attract the hideous humans. Stella is also being looked for, and they actually do want to kill her," Aimee whispered.

"The youngest was stung by her, so that's understood. You shouldn't worry about it. The human boy will be gone soon, according to Phillip's message from yesterday. Remember, he said something about school. I thought only the owls had it, but the humans do too, and it starts next week. If you can hang in there until then, you'll be fine!" Samantha smiled. "By the way, this is not the best hiding place. Alfred's coming back with another load in a few minutes."

"I know, I just got trapped," Aimee whispered. "I wish that Stella could give me more advice about this."

"She's got more problems than you, remember? They really do want to put her to death."

"It doesn't matter," Aimee cried. "We'll all die by the looks of it, and all because of humans!"

"You have no idea!" Stella called. "I just accidentally stung the girl again. She's okay, but…she found the ant hill. Alfred's fine and is with Caleb, who just barely escaped the boy, for now. They're calling the exterminator!"

"What?" Samantha asked. "Why the exterminator?"

"Alfred's colony is two thousand strong, and the recent destruction only ended this week's generation, but the family wants them all to be gone, and all of us too!" Stella exclaimed. "I have to tell everyone!"

She flew high above the garden and watched as the bugs gravitated towards the birdbath. Everyone sat on the rim and looked as Stella made sure they were not already being hunted.

"Attention bugs! We are going to be exterminated unless we leave this garden for good! We must find a suitable home within the next two days or risk termination thanks to my actions! The ant hill was destroyed, and from the message I received from the queen, they are moving across the creek using a suitable bridge! We too need a home if we wish to live! Are there any volunteers to help us find a suitable place?" Stella called over them.

Alfred smiled to himself. This was his chance to prove that he was the explorer he wanted to be. This journey would also be his first from the garden, and he knew that by volunteering, he could take help with him, possibly Caleb or someone else who was strong. Alfred smiled and called to Caleb, who jumped with Alfred hanging onto his back.

"Caleb, you wish to go?" Stella asked.

"Alfred wants to go! Alfred the ant!" Caleb corrected. "And I want to go with him!"

Stella buzzed over to just beside Alfred, who looked minute against the grasshopper and the bee, but he had a strong look in his eye.

"You wish to make this journey?" she asked. He nodded. "Are you certified in exploring?"

"No, but…I've always wanted to, but the queen, she refused, saying that I was just a dreamer and that hard work could pull me from my habits. Goddess, I really want to make this journey, for everyone. This is our home, but…we just have to find a new one," Alfred replied. Stella looked over the group.

"All in favor of Alfred and Caleb making the journey, say I!" she called.

"I!" the group replied loudly. Stella nodded and looked back to Alfred.

"Leave as soon as you have supplied. Webster! Go with them as a guide. You've seen much of this block, so be their sky support," Stella commanded. Webster nodded and jumped from his flower, making a perfect spiral as he stopped himself seconds before reaching the ground. He then broke off this thread and wiggled towards the two explorers. The group began disbursing to speak about the move with their own friends, but one bug stayed. Samantha approached the group of three.

"I'm going with you," she said sternly.

"Why?" Webster asked. "You've no business going with us."

"Hear her our, Webster. What are you coming with us for?" Alfred asked.

"The same reason as you, and…I want to let the group respect me. I'll carry supplies, and I can help burrow into the ground for safety. You need me if you want Caleb to hide underground with you, and I already know of a tunnel big enough for all of us. It leads to a concrete thing that the humans call a sidewalk. From there, we can see every yard on this block and the next one, I promise. Please, can I come with you?" Samantha begged. Caleb looked to Alfred then to Samantha.

"We would need someone larger to carry supplies, and you're the ma…woman for the job. Webster, help her secure the supplies. Alfred, you tell Stella while I eat some lunch. That human made me miss it," Caleb grinned. Alfred nodded in agreement, and the group went their separate ways. They were going on a journey together to prove to the world that they were capable of being strong.


	2. Chapter 2

**Below the Backyard**

CHAPTER TWO: THE JOURNEY

"We have everything, don't we?" Webster asked. Samantha sighed heavily.

"Of course we have everything. If we add one more thing to this, then I'll die from compression. Yes, Webster, we have every last thing possible."

"Calm down, Samantha," Alfred whispered calmly. "If we don't leave soon, then we won't have enough time to get to a yard before sundown. It's noon now by the feel of it and the path that Samantha told me about should take us all afternoon to go through, with Webster's help. Are you all ready?"

"Of course," Samantha whispered. Caleb hopped up to them from behind her.

"I'm going over the ground to set up camp at the exit. Aimee spotted a path that I can take. She's hiding now though because of the human boy. He's home from the hospital and he and his father both are hunting her," Caleb said quickly. Alfred nodded.

"Aimee! Wherever you are, good luck!" Alfred screamed.

"Thanks, Al!" Aimee called back.

Then the four embarked on their journey. Caleb went towards the fence surrounding the Robinson's backyard and the rest went right behind Samantha. At first, Alfred was happy to be going on a journey. He was happy with his courage, his braveness, and his ability to organize what he hoped would be a successful exploration group. Then the danger began.

Samantha's little path was what they hoped would be a garden hose, just big enough for the three of them and just small enough for people to avoid, but her path was not what they thought it would be. The previous night it had rained heavily, and Samantha's path was a storm drain, meaning that it would be filled with a treacherous current of water that was seven millimeters deep, enough to drown even the longest bugs, such as Samantha.

"Um, Samantha, how are we going to cross this?" Alfred asked. The sound made his antennas shiver, and Webster was silent with fear.

"I don't know. I thought it was just a path, but that was last summer, when we were having what the humans called a drought. I thought it was raining every day, not us being hosed every day," Samantha whispered. Alfred sighed.

"Well, I don't know how we're going to do this. Should we try to get through the front yard and onto the sidewalk?" Alfred asked. Samantha shook her head.

"There's a birdfeeder in the front. We'll get eaten with the rest of the bird food if we go that way," Samantha replied.

"Webster, do you know any way for us to cross?...Webster?" Alfred asked, turning around. Webster was frozen with fear. "Webster, it's okay. You could help us get across, but only if you believe in yourself. Do you think you could help us?"

"There…there…there's a wire going across…that way," he whispered shakily, pointing his head to the right. "Sa…Sa…Samantha can't cross. She's too wide and…everything is…too heavy."

"Okay, let's see what we could do," Alfred whispered. "I know, you make a basket with your silk, and Sam and I can pull it across. Can you do that Webster?" Alfred asked. Webster nodded quietly, shaking if you stared long enough. Alfred looked back to Sam.

"I can handle that," she whispered. The group then began walking towards the wire.



Caleb had been walking for what felt like hours in the hot sun. He had managed to climb over the fence only to find a pool and concrete patio covered with humans much like the Robinsons. He felt like no matter how much Alfred, Webster, and Samantha tried, they'd never succeed.

Caleb walked across the top of the fence and passed a dividing gate between the back and front yards of the next house over. He saw a front yard filled with a flower bed against the front of the house, and a children's play area, but nothing the group would enjoy.

Caleb sighed heavily and began walking along the dividing gate. He decided that walking over this gate, walking over the porch carefully, and then hopefully onto another dividing gate would be his best route, but he also began to think about what would happen without this journey. The group could all die, from Stella to Ricky to Aimee to…himself. The Robinsons' backyard was their home, and leaving it would mean leaving their home for decades now. Caleb's own parents visited the Robinsons' front yard just two summers ago, and they fell in love with the attention of detail that Mrs. Robinson had on her flowers. Alfred's colony, Caleb knew, moved from the next yard over because they had an above ground pool that would flood their mound every autumn. They escaped for freedom, as did Stella, whose family is a beekeeper's beehive three houses down. Ricky left a disappearing marsh three hundred centimeters from the neighbor's yard. Webster left a breeding area for silk worms across the street, and Phillip left the animal shelter a block away on Sandy, the family's rescued dog. Everyone in the group came to the yard from somewhere else that they could never return to, and Caleb used this to make a giant six-foot jump onto the porch of the neighboring yard. As soon as he did, he was met with their group of insects and bugs, a group that was not so friendly.



"That was a long walk," Webster sighed, wiggling onto the platform in front of the long wall. Samantha nodded in agreement.

"How are we going to conquer this? Are you sure that Webster can do this?" Samantha asked. Webster gave her a hurt look.

"I can do anything, Samantha, a lot more than the people back home think you can do," Webster said sternly.

"Why does everyone think I'm unreliable?" Samantha asked angrily. "What did I ever do wrong to change my reputation that drastically? I'm just like every centipede, and I'm just like every girl…"

"Full of talk and no action. Blah, blah, blah, we get it," a rat said gruffly. A squeaky giggle came from behind him.

"You sure told her, boss, yeah, you told her," a smaller rat laughed.

"Shut it. What are you three bugs doin' in the sewer?" the first rat asked.

"Our garden may be facing extermination, so we're using this to get across a large area in a short amount of time, but the current water level is hindering us. You see, we can't swim," Albert explained. The first rat looked to the second rat and into a small area behind him.

"We may be able to help you bugs, though we normally wouldn't. It's just that…one of you bugs helped us, a Richard. He lost his sight for us, to help us escape extermination, well, something sort of like it. We lived in an abandoned dumpster in a marsh, and they were going to use chemicals to clean it with us in it, so Richard flew into the haze to guide us out. He said he had somewhere else for us to move, but we're for dumpsters, not some well-tended garden in the middle of suburbia. So, we'll help you, for him," the first rat said with a smirk.

"Thank you," Alfred grinned, thinking back to Ricky. He was a hero, more than any of the bugs in the garden, but he never told anyone. Alfred felt proud of his friend as he looked up to the first rat again. "So, how can you help us?"

"Well, there's a path upstream, we can take you across that and to a city park. The park only faces sprays once a year, and the only one was just done last week. All of the chemicals will have washed away by now," the first rat smirked.

"We can't subject any of them to poisons," Samantha whispered sternly. Alfred nodded in agreement.

"We were hoping to find a place like we have now, where no one ever sprays anything that could kill us," Alfred smiled, trying to be friendly to rats they may as well be his only hope. The rats merely laughed.

"You aren't going to find that, ant boy. The only way across is right here then. We can walk across the wire with you three on our backs," the first rat smiled. Alfred looked to Samantha and Webster, who, by the looks on their faces, liked the idea. The three then looked back to the rats, ready to make the strange journey. The first rat nodded and looked to the second rat. "Take them across, Tony."

Alfred and Samantha curled on top of the second rat's head while Webster rode on the first rat. The group then crossed the precarious wire, and made it across safely. The rats let them off and walked back across the wire.

"If you need anything from any rat, tell them Ricky sent you. He saved a lot of our tails," the first rat called over the current. The second rat laughed loudly and obnoxiously.

"Tails! Rats have tails!" he howled with laughter, following the first rat reluctantly.

"Let's say we find our way back to the gardens before we encounter any more problems. It'll be night soon, and we need to settle in before the owls or bats spot us," Alfred whispered. The group nodded and followed him onto the street. Once there, they were faced with a large backyard with a serious issue: they had pet bats and owls. The group settled back into the sewer to see what they could do from there.



"Well, will you look a-here, boys. We got ourselves a grasshopper to munch on," a large parrot smiled.

"I'm…I'm…I'm not a grasshopper. I'ma…I'ma…I'ma cricket," Caleb said sternly.

"Then chirp for us, stutter monkey!" a second, small parrot crooned.

"Chirp! Chirp!" the group chanted. Caleb knew it would never worked, but he tried anyway.

As he began, he heard a sound. He was chirping! He was really chirping! The group then flew away, leaving Caleb stunned by his own accomplishments, but wait. Who was that behind him? A gorgeous cricket stepped out from behind a gutter.

"Sorry to confuse you, but I couldn't watch you get eaten. I'm Angela the cricket," she smiled. "And who are you?"

"Caleb, from the next garden over," Caleb whispered. He was love struck by this mysterious cricket.

"It's a beautiful garden. I've always wanted to live there, but I live across the street," she smiled again.

"Well, it's not perfect anymore. One of our bees stung their daughter again and we'll all be exterminated unless we find another home."

"Oh! That is so sad! I was planning on moving in next summer, after I come back. You know, the gang might accept all of you. I'll go talk to our leader and come back here. You can wait behind the gutter. There's plenty to drink and you can crawl inside once night falls."

"Won't the night bother you?" Caleb asked, regretting as soon as the words left his mouth.

"I'm a cricket, honey. I'll be back as soon as you can. Make yourself at home," she smiled, hoping away into the twilight. Caleb huddled behind the gutter and watched as twilight occurred on the long street. Search lights began flickering on, starting in the east and ending in the west, as Caleb had learned from listening to the humans in their tree houses and forts. Caleb would miss those days, unless he and the rest of the group could find another place to live. With this thought, Caleb began to worry about Alfred, Webster, and Samantha, and he also worried about the bugs back home. He hoped with all six of his feet that the garden would remain safe long enough to get everyone from the garden, and hopefully into a safe home.



Alfred and Samantha led the exhausted Webster onto the sidewalk. Night had fallen, but it didn't seem that way due to the bright lights overhead. Also, bugs could be heard all around them. They were below a bug highway filled with every type of swarming bug from gnats to mosquitoes. The group walked slowly below them trying to figure out which yard to venture into.

After a few minutes of silence, Alfred finally gathered his voice and looked to a yard with tea lights surrounding its path.

"I say we follow it into their garden and try to mingle with them," Alfred tried, but Samantha just sighed.

"It's not that easy, believe me," Samantha whispered.

"How would you know?" Webster asked, standing up for the first time since they left the sewer.

"I was one of the first to enter your garden, but it was back before everyone was so nice, even though they aren't as nice as they could be. Anyway, you can't just waltz into every new social regime you find. You have to have a connection, and currently we only have one: Ricky. He can get us into every dumpster in town, but the yards are off limits until we can find a new connection," Samantha explained. A screech sounded above, barely audible to the three.

"Bats!" screamed a gnat, who was then gobbled up by a fruit bat.

"No! Not Dat! No!" cried another gnat, who fell to the ground with grief.

"Was that one of you friends?" Webster asked.

"No! It was my wife! Ten cycles of the sun we've been married, and now she's gone!" he wailed. Due to his lack of sympathy before, Webster made the gnat a tiny hanky and gave it to him. "Thank you, you inconsiderate worm!" he cried, blowing his nose and throwing it to the ground. "Why are you all here…together? It's after dark and none of you are leaders."

More screams from mosquitoes came from above as Samantha replied, cutting off Alfred in the process. "We're exploring, trying to find a new home for the bugs in our garden. We might be exterminated."

"Oh, dear, that is quite a good reason to be wandering the streets alone. And you have no connections? Most travel with someone who could lead them to other allies or former homes."

"Our only connection has no sight, and the rest of us can never return to where we came from, even if we do remember where it was," Alfred replied. The gnat nodded as another one of the mourners hit the sidewalk near them.

"Well, I may be able to help you, God help me. There's a garden over here that might accept you. Come with me. They'll show me pity because of Dat, and maybe, if you all work hard, they'll let each of you stay. I take that the ant here is one of a thousand and one?" the gnat asked.

"Of course," Alfred replied with a smile. "We're the only group of the same species in the entire garden."

"Ah, from the Robinsons'. Such nice people, they were, until they found out their daughter was allergic. She speaks to the main humans near our garden and we take in every word. Has the boy captured the butterfly yet?"

"Not to our knowledge, but we left midmorning," Webster replied. The gnat nodded and led them up the tea-light-lit path.

"Greta!" the gnat called. A garden spider rustled into their sight from the bushes. "We have a problem."

"You too? Everyone come inside. Angela is already here about another friend. I take that you're all from the Robinson house?" Greta asked. The three nodded. "Very well, come inside and tell me your story. When you're finished, we'll send a message to you garden. If it's as bad as Angela tells me, then all of you may stay."

So, Alfred, Samantha, and Webster explained their story to Greta, who agreed that they all could stay, under one condition: they give guided tours of the garden once the pesticides were gone. The group agreed, and the message was sent by a rat who would also do anything for Ricky. After a few long minutes, the verdict returned, and Stella approved, along with everyone else. Caleb was retrieved by a group of rats that agreed to transport the bugs in the night. By the time the moon had risen, all the bugs were lying in hammocks woven by Webster, and everyone was together and happy. Now, they just have to meet the new neighbor and learn is leaving home for bad reasons can become a good reason.


End file.
